The present invention relates to an apparatus for conveying articles such as cigarettes transversely to the axis thereof and for temporarily storing the articles between a machine for continuously feeding the articles to the apparatus and a removal device for periodically removing the articles from the apparatus.
Such an apparatus may be arranged between a cigarette strand machine or filter-attaching machine and a threstle filler and in that case serves two tasks in which the cigarette strand machine or other upstream machine delivers the cigarettes in a continuous stream in which the cigarettes are irregularly spaced due to damaged cigarettes being, for example, separated out. The removal device must, however, always be presented with complete sets of a predetermined number of cigarettes substantially at standstill. The interposed apparatus therefore forms an accumulation of the cigarettes delivered by the upstream machine, from which stream the cigarettes are then withdrawn batchwise. Secondly, the upstream machine and the removal device are driven from separate drives and therefore not synchronized in advance. For that reason, the drive of the removal device is re-regulated in dependence on the length of the accumulation.
DE-AS No. 12 98 427 discloses an apparatus in which a grooved belt is at one place constantly driven with a regulated rotational speed, but periodically stopped at the removal location. For this purpose, a loop of the grooved belt arrangement is formed, which under the control of a cam disc is pivotable together with a transfer conveyor around the axis of a smooth drum, on the peripheral surface of which an accumulation path is provided. At the downstream end of the accumulation, the cigarettes are subjected to an appreciable pressure which leads to disturbances in the removal. Furthermore, control by the cam disc is not entirely precise so that additional compensating devices must be provided.
DE-OS No. 26 18 905 discloses an apparatus, in which the cigarettes are accumulated on a horizontal path, whereby the cigarettes are preserved. The cigarettes are accumulated on a smooth conveyor belt and then transferred to a belt provided with grooves. The cigarettes taken over from the accumulation by this constantly running grooved belt are then conveyed around a deflection roller thereof to the run below the roller. Between this and the upper run of a grooved belt an intermediate conveyor in the shape of a grooved wheel is rotatably and displaceably arranged and which is driven into a superimposed circulatory and translatory motion in such a manner that the path speed of the cigarettes at the transfer location is equal to that of the removal belt. The drums of the grooved belts form storage means.
The plurality of the conveying means is disadvantageous since there is a danger of faults and damages occurring on each transfer of the cigarettes, the necessary overhead transport of the cigarettes additionally requiring expensive retaining means. It has proved to be advantageous in this apparatus to take the cigarettes over from the accumulation at constant speed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which with a simple construction, without overhead transport action of the cigarettes and with a cigarette take-over from a horizontal accumulation path operates reliably at constant speed.